In Witcheye, from developer Moonkid and publisher Devolver Digital, a pesky knight has pilfered a witch’s treasure, and she transforms into a floating eyeball of revenge to retrieve her (presumably) ill-gotten gains. This unique take on the auto-sidescroller won’t blow away platforming veterans but it’s a neat little romp with some fun tricks up its sleeve.
Witcheye’s fun comes in skillfully steering the Eye past obstacles and into enemies' adorable faces. The lack of direct control seems like a pain at first, but the responsive mechanics allow players to line up shots with little trouble. That holds true whether players swipe the Switch's touchscreen or flick the analog sticks. Once players find their rhythm they’ll notice Witcheye's subtle layers of depth. For example, mastering when to halt the Eye’s movement to allow attacks to sail by becomes vital as more projectiles appear. Taking recoil into consideration adds another layer of thoughtfulness. Ricochet off a baddie at the wrong time, and players may send themselves careening into a well-placed trap. Once all of these skills gel together, artfully zig-zagging past fireballs to nail the exposed backside of an armored foe never fails to satisfy.
The cute cast of enemies try their hardest to test players, but the game rarely makes anyone sweat. Combine that with instant respawns if the Eye actually does manage to fail and Witcheye flies by in no time. Although they're similarly laid-back, boss battles offer the most entertaining showdowns in the game. They won’t take more than a couple of attempts to complete but they’re creatively designed and fun to conquer. Highlights include an egg-laying bird that hatches waves of ticked-off babies and trying to hit a cowardly minion while evading the flames of his fire-breathing genie.
Only the final world and its ultimate boss presents a serious test, making it the most engaging - and swear-inducing - section of the game. However, this spike in challenge feels less jarring and more welcomed after cruising through most of the game up to that point. Those hankering for a more demanding game should look into the tougher difficulties options that unlock post-game. With a faster Eye and tougher foes, it provides that enjoyable bite that the standard experience lacks.
Witcheye’s mobile game origins show in the digestible levels that take under a minute to complete, making it easy to bang out the six worlds in quick sessions. New design wrinkles gradually spice up the otherwise straightforward stages. For example, eventually players combat the opposing forces of water buoyancy and powerful whirlwinds. Such obstacles may be old hat in more standard platformers but feel more novel under Witcheye’s rules. Decent replay value comes in unearthing every hidden jewel and secret artifact within a stage. They're not too hard to find, making it largely stress-free bit of extra credit.
Not every game needs to bowl players over with game-changing, bleeding edge design to be fun. Sometimes a comforting and competent romp gets the job done, and Witcheye succeeds at being just that. It's a novel little experience that, at the very least, acts as a good palate cleanser in between major releases. Everyone needs a game like that at some point, so it's worth keeping an eye out for Devolver Digital's tasty serving of side-scrolling comfort food.
Witcheye is available now for iOS, Android, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided a digital Switch code for the purpose of this review.
Witcheye
- Released
- August 15, 2019
